


Broken Hearts

by TheDumbestAvenger



Series: Whumptober 2020 [19]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Sad Peter Parker, Whumptober 2020, it was a bad choice apparently, sad author who wrote this after watching the reichenbach fall at 3am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27099433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDumbestAvenger/pseuds/TheDumbestAvenger
Summary: The immediate aftermath of the final battle against Thanos
Relationships: May Parker & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Whumptober 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946023
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Broken Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Day 19!
> 
> I'm tired, there are tears everywhere, it's sad Tony Stark hours, let's do this
> 
> *Warnings*  
> Grief | Mourning | Death of a Loved One

After the battle, there was little coordination between the remaining Avengers. Pepper only wanted to be with Morgan, so Stephen portalled her back home. Some, Steve and Rhodey included, threw themselves into attempting to clear up just to have something to do other than think about what they’d lost. Though how they expected to clean up the fresh hell they stood in, Peter didn’t know. 

Some people, seemingly led by the sorcerers, set about helping their injured soldiers, moving bodies from the battlefield. And the rest either left or just found a place to sit. Sit, and think. Clint went immediately, taking a still functioning Quinjet, to see his family. No one blamed him or judged him for leaving so quickly. Thor sat with Bruce, overlooking the lake in comfortable silence.

Peter tried to leave, but realised he didn’t know where to go. He didn’t know who had dusted five years - _ five years… _ \- previously. Had May? Ned and MJ? He simply didn’t know. Sure, he could walk all the way into the city, but what if May had moved apartments, States, Countries, even. So he just sat on the grass a good distance from the crater Thanos’ missiles carved into the ground, trying not to think what he’d left behind in there.

He sat against a lone tree, no idea what time of day it was as smokey clouds obscured the sky. Loss wasn’t a new feeling to him; he’d lost plenty in his few years, but Peter couldn’t keep tears from falling over his cheeks. His parents died when he was young, but they’d given him the best possible childhood he could imagine. Every memory he had of them was a happy one. Ben had only passed a few years back; he’d been the one who taught Peter how to be Peter. How to tie his shoelaces, and even how to play the guitar, though he was pretty awful at it. He chuckled at the memory.

But Tony, he’d taught Peter how to be a hero, even before he knew him. From that fight with Stane that felt like a lifetime ago, right up until the moment on Titan when they realised they’d lost, Peter had been learning how to help people, how to do the right thing, no matter the cost. Because that’s what Tony had done, the right thing. And paid the ultimate price.

A fresh wave of sobs washed over Peter. He doubled over as they wracked his body as if needing to amount his physical pain to his emotional. With Tony gone, his  _ hero _ gone, it felt like a piece of his heart had gone right along with him, never to return.

To Peter, it was only yesterday that he’d got on board that bus with Ned on their trip to MOMA. How much had changed since then?

“Peter?” A frantic voice screamed. It took a second to register in Peter’s ears. “Peter!”

He pushed himself to his feet, eyes blurred with tears, and stumbled unsteadily from behind the tree. May ran across the field towards the wrecked Avengers Facility. Peter called out, his voice unsteady, and she turned. The second her eyes met his, she crumpled to her knees, head in her hands as she cried freely. Peter charged towards her and skidded down before wrapping her in his arms.

“Oh, Peter,” she sobbed, holding him tight, one hand tangled in his hair and the other protectively around his back. “I thought- I could see from the apartment- I thought I’d lost you.” Peter choked on sobs of his own as May continued. “I don’t know what happened. I woke up on the floor, and a whole different family had moved in. It- It makes no sense. When I saw that ship, I knew something had happened and came straight here.”

Peter squeezed his eyes shut. May - human, non-superpowered May - ran toward the biggest battle Earth had faced, for Peter. “It’s been five years,” he spluttered. May tensed up and pulled away, looking between his eyes. “It’s been five years,” he repeated. “That’s how long ago we- Since I went into space. The bad guy, Thanos, he won. H-He turned half of the population to dust, but the Avengers got us back-” His words caught in his throat, unable to say what happened next.

May’s eyes grew wider with every word Peter spoke, shock evident on her face. She swallowed it down, ready to be strong for Peter. “So you... turned to dust too? Up in space.” Peter nodded quickly, shaking tears from his eyes. “How did you get back?”

“Uh, this new guy can make portals, apparently.” Peter left out the part where Stephen let half the world disappear for years, even if it was the only way as he said. He leant forward and rested his forehead on May’s shoulder. “We came back, and T-Thanos was here. We fought him but-” a sob escaped instead of words. May rubbed his back and waited, not pressuring him for answers to the countless questions she undoubtedly had. “Mister Stark, he- He got the stones and wiped out Thanos’ army but- They were too powerful. May, he’s dead. Tony’s gone.”

“No…” May’s hand froze on Peter’s back as his words set in. The world’s first superhero, Earth’s mightiest defender…

Peter lost all control of his emotions, his tears staining May’s top as they cascaded over his cheeks.

“Hey,  _ hey, _ ” May breathed, hugging him close once again as she set aside her feelings in favour of comforting Peter. “It’s okay, cry as much as you want.”

“Don’t leave me, May,” Peter wailed. “Don’t ever leave.”

“I won’t,” May whispered. “Never.” She pulled away again and held Peter at arm’s length, fixing him with a soft but meaningful gaze. “I’m here, Peter. We’ll get through this together, that’s a promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> i love y'all 3000


End file.
